The demand for specialty fertilizers and other agrochemicals is at an all-time high, and this need is only going to increase further in the future as rapid population growth and expanding industrialization further diminish the amount of available fertile land. Now more than ever before, the farming industry needs specialty fertilizers, soil surfactants, water conditioners and other agrochemicals to make the available land more productive so that they can produce enough to match the demands and growing needs of the rising population. There has also been a recent expansion of the turf and lawn care market for new sub-niche products and innovative solutions such as turf colorants, grass paints, lake dyes, pond dyes, soil surfactants, fertilizers, herbicides and so on. All of this has created the perfect opportunity for the agrochemical industry to grow rapidly, but this growth is somewhat hindered by certain challenging situations and regulations, as will be discussed next.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By Cisper
Strict Regulations and Associated Development Costs
In the United States and across the entire developed section of the planet, there are strict regulatory laws imposed on the agrochemical industry today. These laws are relatively new introductions, but their impact is such that the industry has had to change many of its manufacturing methods and ingredients to adhere to the new standards. This has created the following challenges for the industry:
- Costs of the new products that observe all the regulations have increased
- Variability in the agrochemical regulations in between nations has made international trade difficult and expensive
- Introduction of new products in the field has become a much slower process than before
- The overhaul of the processes still needs time to be properly implemented
International Products are Too Expensive
As mentioned in the previous point, the varying international laws regulating the agrochemical products have made international products too expensive for retailers in the lawn care and farming industry to buy and sell with any decent profit margin. It isn’t that all products from outside the US are inferior or superior, it is just that the extra effort and expenses necessary for a foreign company to appropriately maintain the standards set by the US government for agrochemical products makes the final products too expensive. Fortunately, AmegA Sciences USA from Florida has introduced a whole range of innovative, propriety products in the sector that address a number of the common issues usually faced by retailers that sell lawn care and farming supplies.
- Being a locally based manufacturer, bulk buys from AmegA Sciences USA are not nearly as expensive as products from outside
- Everything from wetting agents and foaming solutions to pond dyes and turf colorant are always ready to be shipped in bulk
- Being an international supplier of agrochemical supplies, their products are top notch
- They can manufacture and supply premium white label chemical products on demand
Rise of Pest-Resistant Crops
Genetically modified crops that are resistant to pests and even lethal for some of them, but don’t pose any threat to human health, are being developed and used on a massive scale now. GM crops are currently used as biofuel primarily in the US, but it is possible that in the future, GM-maize crops might completely negate the need for using pesticides in the farming fields. This is already a challenge for the agrochemical companies that primarily produce pesticides, but down the line, this could drastically impact the associated businesses. While the use of pesticides may not completely cease to exist any time soon, the demand will likely shrink extensively.
The Harmful Impact of Chemical Products
There is a very real reason as to why governments around the developed world have clamped down so hard on the regulations managing the manufacturing, distribution and use of agrochemical products, and that reason has a lot to do with the negative effects that previously unregulated pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers have had on the surrounding human population, animal population, soil condition and ecology in various regions. For example, certain ingredients in agrochemical products have been identified as being responsible for causing diseases such as asthma, autism, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and even cancer. To identify, exclude and replace the overtly harmful chemicals from their products and market them again is definitely one of the biggest challenges faced by the agrochemical industry at the moment.
Although these are not small challenges by any means, in many ways they are directing the business towards a tough but necessary road which it needs to take in order to evolve with the changing times. It is best to consider the current challenges as temporary obstacles, rather than permanent ones because in time, the agrochemical industry will inevitably overcome them to create a better future for both the industry and the planet.
